Beryllos nail salons to reach 150 stores throughout Brazil in the next three years, all without ever trimming a cuticle

The franchise has developed a proprietary technique to soften the cuticles and uses only disposable materials to prevent disease and damage to the nails.

Luzia Costa, Beryllos

Cuticle trimming is a very common practice in beauty salons across Brazil. However, lately there has been a shift towards leaving cuticles alone since they act as a protective barrier for the nail against bacteria and infection. Cuticle nippers that are not properly sterilized between each use have also been a known source for transmitting fungal infections such as ringworm or even hepatitis.

Beauty entrepreneur Luiza Costa had all this in mind when she developed an unprecedented technique in nail care she called ‘cutilagem’. Curiously, the idea behind the business came up during a visit to her dentist. While her daughter was having a cavity filled, she started wondering whether it was possible to use a tool similar to the dreaded dental drill to look after the nails. “After several studies, and months of testing the device on my own hands, I created a micro-drill with a rough cutting edge to sharpen and polish the cuticles without trimming or bruising them,” she says. “It also minimizes the risk of infections.”

After working as a hair removal technician and specializing in eyebrow micropigmentation, Costa founded eyebrow design franchise Sóbrancelhas in 2013. The company currently has over 200 stores in Brazil and Argentina. The idea to start a nail care business came from a strong demand for nail services in the Sóbrancelhas stores – but she wanted to create something new.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and the desire to innovate in this market never left my mind. ‘Cutilagem’ goes above and beyond nail care,” says Costa. She opened the doors to her first Beryllos nail salon in the city of Taubaté, 140km from São Paulo.

To ensure customer safety, in addition to completely eliminating the use of cuticle nippers, the new franchise only works with disposable materials and provides single-dose nail polish for each customer. There are 43 color options to choose from, all available in 4ml bottles that can be taken home if there are any leftovers.

Beryllos also has its own line of hand and foot care products, including nourishing nail serum, exfoliating cream and moisturizing lotion. The company also offers intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy for skin rejuvenation and hair removal, as well as treating skin pigmentation.

In addition to the store in Taubaté, the city where Costa lives, she opened another two Beryllos branches in 2017: one in Maceió (Alagoas) and another in Pouso Alegre (Minas Gerais). The goal is to have 50 franchises in operation by mid-year, and another 150 within three years’ time. “We are confident that our proprietary technique will help to rapidly expand the business,” says Costa.

The company is currently targeting cities with a population of approximately 100,000. “We have researched into this demographic and found there is a lack of nail care services that take the health and safety of customers seriously,” she adds.

Beryllos should follow the steps of Sóbrancelhas and expand to other countries shortly. “We have already signed an agreement to take the franchise to Bolivia. We are only starting to dip our feet into the international market, but I am confident this strategy will be a successful one.”

The initial investment required to open a Beryllos store is R$ 234,000 and monthly gross earnings are estimated at R$ 70,000.

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